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Or perhaps a less-confusing way to state it, "Christians cannot join
those archists." Do you know who the "archists" are?
1. Jesus Forbids His Followers to be "Archists."
The classic passage in which Jesus forbids us to be "archists" is Mark 10:42-45
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are
considered rulers over the Gentiles lord
it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. {43} Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become
great among you shall be your servant. {44} And whoever of you desires to be first shall
be slave of all. {45} "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
The word translated "rulers"
comes from the Greek word from which we derive our word "anarchist." Jesus
clearly says His followers are not to be "archists." In fact, God hates
archists.
2. God Hates Archism
Who Are "Archists?"
You're bound to find the word "archist" from
time to time in Vine & Fig Tree web pages.
But it's not a word you're likely to find in any dictionary. It was a word that was
created to make a point.
People sometimes criticize Vine & Fig Tree
for being "anarchist." What they fail to realize is that Jesus commanded His
followers to be "anarchists." He did this when He told them not to
be "archists" ("anarchist" = "a" [not] + "archist"
[opposite of "servant"]) but since no one knows what an "archist" is,
they don't understand why true Christians are "an-archists."
Here are some more verses which use the word "archist."
Do YOU want to be an archist?
Ephesians 2:2 in which you once walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
1 Corinthians 2:6-8 However, we speak wisdom among those
who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers
of this age, who are coming to nothing. {7} But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, {8} which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory.
| Romans 13:1-3 Let every soul be subject unto
the higher exousiai [pl.]. For
there is no exousia but of God: the
exousiai that be are ordained of
God. {2} Whosoever therefore resisteth the exousia,
resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves
damnation. {3} For archists are not
a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the exousia? do that which is good, and thou shalt
have praise of the same: |
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against exousiai, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Colossians 2:15
And having spoiled archists and exousiai, He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in Him. |
Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and
the archists were gathered together
against the Lord, and against His Christ.
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the archist of this world
be cast out.
What Do "Archists" Do?
Archists attempt to convince us that when things don't go the way we would like them to
go, we can resort to violence to change
matters. Even if nothing will be changed by violence, that's OK, because making them
suffer who made us suffer is called "justice." Archists thus believe in
institutionalized vengeance.
Archists believe in force and
conquest rather than mere persuasion. When preaching fails to gain a
convert, the archist resorts to violence or intimidation (threats of force).
The Bible clearly links violence and
rulership. The Bible says Israel rejected God when they opted for archism (1 Samuel 8). Much of the Old Testament
Scriptures describe this archist rebellion, denounce the violence and death it caused, and
record the prophets' message of judgment from an anti-archist God. Whole books in the
Bible chronicle the violence of the kings. God hates this violence-archism nexus, and when
His patience is crossed, He will destroy all those involved in this
"patriotism."
| Genesis 6 Now it came to pass, that the sons of God saw
the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all
whom they chose. {4} There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward,
when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those
were the mighty men who were of old, men of
renown. {5} Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. {11} The earth also
was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
{12} So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted
their way on the earth. {13} And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come
before Me, for the earth is filled with violence
through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. |
Above all previous centuries, the 20th century was characterized by:
- Secular Humanism: Rebellion Against Christ
the True Archist
- Leviathan: Huge, centralized governments
- Violence: More murders than any previous
century. "Legal" murders.
But most Christians don't care about violence. Most Christians don't care about
archism. They only care about "personal peace and affluence." They're just
waiting around for the rapture, and if they can skim a little pork off the top of the
archist barrel before they go, all the better. Their archist apathy makes God puke
(Revelation 3:16).
Death by Government: The Chilling Statistics of Archist
Democide in the 20th Century
Since Christ is the Prince of Peace, it follows that Christians are Pacifists (from the Latin word for "peace").
And since the State is institutionalized violence, it follows that Christians are going to
be accused by the State of being "anarchists."
| The most important reason for not being an Archist
is not merely to point a finger at the bad things archists do, like killing, stealing,
kidnapping, and committing other acts of violence. The most important reason for avoiding
archism is the effect archism has on us. We hear the philosophers and
theologians praise Jesus as a "great teacher," and everyone gives lip-service to
the Sermon on the Mount. But when a pagan dictator threatens to raise our gas prices,
Jesus takes a backseat to realpolitik. And everyone learns a
subtle lesson: loving your enemies and forgiving one another is all well and good for our
"private lives," but for public matters -- the
"really important stuff" in "the real world" -- "national security" takes precedence over "the Great
Teacher." Thus when someone wrongs us, we don't think twice before saying "I'll
sue his pants off!" (See 1 Corinthians 6.) From a
Christian perspective, two things characterize pure religion. They can be summed up in the
words of the Apostle James:
Pure religion and undefiled before God and
the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and
to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27
Christian Non-archism is the "one pure religion." If you want to be the kind
of person who spontaneously and from the heart has the compassion of Jesus, and visits the
weak and afflicted, you must keep yourself unspotted from archism.
Your success at treating the most despised members of society with love and compassion
is a divine indicator of your allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you treat the
"marginalized" and your "enemies" with contempt, those acts will be
imputed to your account as though you had personally treated Christ that way (Matthew 25:31ff.).
For this reason, it is absolutely vital that you remain "unspotted"
by the agenda, mythology, and weltänschauüng of the world of archism. The world-and-life view of archist culture is summed up in these
phrases:
- "Survival of the fittest,"
- "Looking out for number one,"
- "I'm not going to let him get away with that!"
- "You can't tell me what to do!"
- "Take this job and shove it!"
- "I'll sue his pants off."
It is an impure religion of the worship of self, and the denial of Christ. It is the
refusal to love even your enemy, and to follow Jesus to the Cross. It is the religion of
Secular Humanism. As a product of government media and schools, this religion has left
your spirit spotted and impure. You must get these ideas out of your head if you
are to find yourself at Christ's right hand (Matthew 25:34). You must become
"unspotted." You must become "a Christian anarchist." |
The Christian Anarchist Homepage
picks up where this page leaves off. Continue reading here.
Interrogatory in Federal Court by
Christian Anarchist
For Further
Study
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